FAQ17 questions
FMTTI, answered straight.
The questions manufacturers, dealers and buyers actually ask — answered directly, with sources. Where a figure can change, we say which government document it comes from.
FMTTI basics
What FMTTI actually is, and whether you need it.
- Farm Machinery Training and Testing Institute — a network of 4 institutes under India's Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare that trains operators and tests agricultural machinery for performance, safety and compliance.
- Four: CFMTTI at Budni, Madhya Pradesh (since 1955, also the national tractor type-approval authority), NRFMTTI at Hisar, Haryana (since 1963), SRFMTTI at Garladinne, Andhra Pradesh (since 1983), and NERFMTTI at Biswanath Chariali, Assam (since 1990).
- It's mandatory whenever you need scheme/subsidy eligibility (SMAM, RKVY, PKVY, CHC) or a tender requires it — and generally required for agricultural machinery costing more than ₹35,000 supplied under government-assisted programmes. Outside those cases it's optional but often still the most credible proof of performance available.
- Both, in effect — its institutes physically test machinery and issue the test report that functions as certification for scheme and procurement purposes. There's no separate 'FMTTI certificate' issued without a report behind it.
Fees & process
What it costs, what's required, and how the application actually runs.
- Per the Ministry's official FY 2025-26 fee schedule, charges range from ₹30,514 (components/hand tools) to ₹2,96,783 (self-propelled transplanters, ride-on tool bars) — see the full table on the FMTTI Hub. Rates are exclusive of GST and revised roughly every two years.
- Detailed technical drawings, a full operational manual, and complete product specifications, submitted through the Agri-Machinery Portal — plus, for physical testing, two units of the machine sent to the institute.
- It runs through the Agri-Machinery Portal across four roles — Manufacturer, Admin, Sub-Admin, Test Engineer — from registration and scrutiny, through fee verification and slot allocation, to a Draft Test Report, your comments, and a Final Test Report. See the full 18-step breakdown in the FMTTI Hub.
- It varies with institute backlog and machine complexity — slots are often booked months ahead, and the test-to-report cycle adds further time. We give a realistic estimate once your documentation and target institute are confirmed.
- It varies by category — tractors and power tillers are 3 years (Initial Commercial Test) then 5 years (Batch Test); most implement categories run 7 years then 5. See the full category-wise table in the FMTTI Hub.
FMTTI vs other bodies
How FMTTI relates to ARAI, ICAT and BIS.
- All three are notified CMVR Rule-126 testing bodies for Indian tractors, running type-approval against the same AIS standards. FMTTI Budni holds a unique national mandate for tractor/power-tiller type-approval; ARAI and ICAT are often used for emission-cycle testing (AIS-137) or when FMTTI's slots are constrained.
- BIS sets national product/safety standards; FMTTI institutes are where machinery is actually tested against performance and (for tractors) type-approval requirements. The two frequently work together rather than substitute for each other.
- Generally your region's FMTTI, though CFMTTI Budni specifically handles tractor type-approval nationally regardless of region. We confirm the right institute for your machine and target scheme.
By machine
Testing differs by machine category — see the dedicated guide for yours.
- No — tractors go through CMVR type-approval nationally via CFMTTI Budni, while implements like rotavators, cultivators and seed drills are tested by regional FMTTIs under separate performance-test categories with their own fee lines.
- Manual/battery-operated and power-operated plant protection equipment each have their own line in FMTTI's official fee schedule, reflecting different test scope for each.
About our service
What Farm Machine Testing does, and what it costs.
- We guide manufacturers, dealers and buyers through FMTTI testing: documentation preparation, institute and slot coordination, test-process explanation, and turning your report into subsidy/procurement eligibility. We do not test machines ourselves — FMTTI's own engineers always conduct the test.
- The first consultation is free and carries no obligation. We never charge a fee to submit a government application (that fee goes to the institute per its own schedule). Where an engagement goes beyond the free consultation, fees are agreed in writing before work starts.
- No. Farm Machine Testing is a private consulting practice — of AgPro Consulting Private Limited — with no affiliation to FMTTI, CFMTTI, the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, or any government body. The official application runs through the Agri-Machinery Portal (agrimachinery.nic.in); we help you navigate it, we don't replace it.